New Hemp Industry in Louisiana Faces Some Growing Pains, but Farmers, Experts Still See Promise
By Ellyn Couvillion, The Advocate
Louisiana farmers faced a host of challenges this spring with their first crop of hemp, a relative of marijuana that was last grown in the state more than 80 years ago.
Thanks to new federal and state laws, hemp is making a comeback in the U.S., as a boon for small farmers, with uses ranging from cannabidiol oil for topical products to cloth, rope and additives for concrete.
Ninety-one Louisiana growers in 41 parishes were licensed through the state Agriculture and Forestry Department to plant hemp this spring.
It wasn't an easy first growing season.
"In this first year, we had Hurricane Laura, Tropical Storm Beta, poor seed, poorly adapted varieties and disease and insects," State Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain said.